North Panola whips Palmer, set to tangle with Calhoun City
Published 9:32 am Wednesday, August 31, 2022
After easing past M.S. Palmer 46-0 in their season-opener last week, the No. 4 ranked North Panola Cougars get set to host Calhoun City Friday in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The 2A Wildcats will be looking to pick up their first win of the year after falling to Houston 38-16 in week one. They have only won once in their six meetings with the Cougars..
Junior quarterback Jaylon Williams directs the Calhoun City offense along with RB/MLB Jaxson Cook and senior wideout Cameron Crutchfield.
North Panola meanwhile barely broke a sweat in their rout over Palmer Friday (Aug. 26) as the Cougars offense scored on five of six possessions in the first half.
Senior quarterback QD Walls was 7-of-10 passing for 132 yards and three touchdown while added 45 yards on four rushes in the first half as North Panola took a commanding 40-0 lead at halftime.
M.J Newson reeled in two receptions for 49 yards and returned a interception 53 yards to set up the second touchdown in the first quarter. Newson also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Walls to give the Cougars a 18-0 lead.
North Panola went up 34-0 midway through the second quarter on a 45-yard strike from Walls to Daveon Williams and 15 yards to Cody Simpson at the 7:15 mark.
Simpson ended the first half as he picked off a pass at the Cougar 2 and raced 98 yards into the end zone. Tray Hayes finished the night with 41 yards on seven carries including a two-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
The Cougars added the final touchdown in the fourth quarter as backup quarterback Denard Presley found the end zone from 15 yards out with 10:18 showing on the clock.
North Panola’s second team defense preserved the shutout in the closing minutes by forcing a fumble in the end zone.
“With this being our first game of the season, we wanted to come out fast on offense and I think our guys came out and set the tone early and at the end of the day we wanted to finish out the game regardless how we played. We did a great job of competing from start to finish and even our second and third unit did a great job there at the end,” said Cougar head coach Randal Montgomery.
North Panola finished the night with 319 total offense while holding Palmer to 61 yards and five first downs with two coming on penalties.
“Naturally we are glad to get this win under our belts and will be extremely excited to play at home next week. I know Calhoun City has a bad taste in their mouth after losing their first game and they will be ready to play and we will be also. It should be a very entertaining game for our fans,” said Montgomery.
